Have you ever felt like you were being punished for doing the right thing?
Kendrick Perkins played in the NBA for over a decade, and he now has a son playing AAU basketball. He talked on a video about the state of AAU, and the lying, fighting, and cheating being done in gyms every weekend.
There’s an old saying that said, “Nice guys finish last,” and if you follow AAU basketball, and youth sports in general, you might believe that it’s true.
But every decision has a consequence, and wisdom is making choices today that your future self will thank you for. Even if everyone around you is making bad decisions, you have to know who you are and who you want to be and make decisions that align with the vision you have for yourself.
Habakkuk was a prophet who spoke with God during a time of injustice and idolatry during the final decades of Israel’s southern kingdom.
He saw the rising threat of Babylon coming towards the Israelites, and he had a personal struggle: How can God be good if there is so much evil in the world?
Habakkuk asked God, “How long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save (Habakkuk 1:2)?”
Life in Israel had become horrible because the Israelites stopped following God’s word and were doing whatever they wanted, good or not.
God told Habakkuk that He sees everything going on, and he is raising the Babylonians to come to punish and destroy the Israelites.
Habakkuk then says how can you, a Holy and good God, empower the Babylonians, who are worse than them, to punish the Israelites? The Babylonians were even worse than the Israelites.
God says a righteous person will live by their faith, and He will eventually bring Babylon down, too. He needed to use the Babylonians to punish the Israelites and teach them a lesson, but He would then punish the Babylonians for their evil ways while paving the way for Jesus to come and save us from our sins.
Evil might win the battle, but it won’t win the war. It’s hard when we see cheaters win, or when we do things the right way and we lose. It must have been hard for Habakkuk to hear from God that He was bringing in the Babylonians.
But you reap what you sow, and there are consequences for every action. They might not come immediately, but they will come.
So choose to do the right thing; make decisions your future self will thank you for, and have faith that God is always watching and taking care of you.
THIS WEEK
1 - What is a goal that you have been working on that you haven’t been able to accomplish?
2 - What is the main thing keeping you from achieving that goal?
3 - What is something you can do to beat that barrier?
4 - Is there anyone in your life who can help you overcome that barrier?
For a Google doc version of this devo, click here: Week 26
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